‘Bou HQ: Charles Aaron on the race for Human Powered Health Cycling
Welcome to ‘Bou HQ* – Caribou Coffee’s ongoing series of spotlight entrepreneurs whose best ideas started where community happens – over coffee. In this edition, we sat down with Charles Aaron who runs one of the most successful women’s cycling programs in U.S. history. He splits his time between his Minneapolis team headquarters, competition races across Europe and, of course, his local Caribou.
Meet Charles Aaron
‘Bou HQ: So, Charles, tell us, how did you go from St. Louis Park to the world’s cycling stage?
Charles Aaron: I’ve always been into bikes, and riding – particularly with a group. Camaraderie and connection. Shared goals. All the things I love about being an entrepreneur. Out of school I got a chance to be part of team management for a local racing team and fell in love with that aspect of the sport too. Mountain bike racing was enormous in the 90s so I started a company (CSI), and we took mountain bike teams around the world to race competitively. We did extremely well, and our teams became global superstars. I was young, but we all learned a lot about travel, logistics, working with athletes, living beyond our human potential – and working with team partners, something that would be crucial for the next step in my career.
‘Bou HQ: But you’re known now for managing road cycling teams – with a lot of success. When and why did you make that change?
CA: Road cycling has been a major sport in Europe for decades and so many countries have their own tours. Even people who don’t know a lot about cycling have heard of the Tour de France. Then in the early to mid 2000s I saw that the sport was gaining real popularity in the U.S. and was about to explode. I also knew that partnerships from team uniforms, to logos on bikes, support vehicles and all kinds of gear was a multi-million-dollar business in Europe, and realized there was a growing but untapped opportunity to bring that kind of marketing vehicle utilizing activations with U.S. brands in a new way. The rest is history. We got our first partnership, hired athletes and got in the saddle. We became the first freshman team in U.S. history to win a national championship at the USA Criterium Championships and soon after more brands started to pay attention. That was in 2007.
‘Bou HQ: This all sounds like a lot of work, hustling and deal making. What keeps you going?
CA: Well … coffee. For one. Of course. But it’s also the fun and joy of making the right connections with athletes, partners, and the many American fans of the sport. A lot of those connections happened at meetings in the early years in Caribou Coffee locations around the Twin Cities. My first office – and our team HQ – for a long time was in the historic Cerosta building in downtown Minneapolis and when sponsors, partners, and our athletes came to town, we’d go offsite to grab a morning coffee, or an afternoon pick me up before we all got on our bicycles. Nowadays, I’m based part of my time in Edina, close to the Vernon Avenue Caribou location.
‘Bou HQ: Got a favorite order?
CA: Easy: a really good espresso.
‘Bou HQ: Tell us about Human Powered Health Cycling. Is that the latest sponsor?
CA: Human Powered Health is the sponsor company, so our team is Human Powered Health Cycling, but this is about way more than sponsorship or naming rights. We’re a platform to promote healthy living and both physical and mental wellbeing. Our mission is to show that even incremental lifestyle changes and adopting healthy habits can have beneficial impacts on your health. We’re making a lot of progress with the message and our finish lines. So far, we’ve clocked up more than 300 wins, our women’s team is racing in the prestigious UCI World Tour and competes in the Tour de France Femmes Avant Zwift and we’ve taken our message of “True Health is Self-Made” to global audiences through amazing content, social media, events and pop up activations globally.
‘Bou HQ: What’s next on the list for you and the team?
CA: A lot of travel. We have training camp in Europe, and then races start in January in Australia, and then Spain as well as the UAE. There is always another race and another opportunity to help inspire people to get up and be active.
‘Bou HQ: What advice do you give to young entrepreneurs getting started?
CA: I’ve been doing this for 30 years – because I love what I do. That’s essential. Don’t start a business just to make money. Find and follow your passion because when you do you will pour every ounce of optimism, energy and follow through into what you do. And when you’re low on energy – there’s always coffee.
Final sip
At ‘Bou HQ, we celebrate innovators who turn coffeehouse conversations into companies or projects that connect people. If you have a story of a business idea or your next big thing that was sparked at a Caribou coffeehouse, we’d love to hear from you. Submit your story – and you could be featured in an upcoming edition.
*The opinions expressed in this story are those of the individual or organization featured, and do not necessarily reflect the view of Caribou Coffee. Caribou Coffee is not affiliated, does not endorse, or receive a benefit from any organization, business, or individual featured in ‘Bou HQ. All photos are used with permission and remain the property of their respective owners.